Airbus parent company EADS NV on Friday announced a further delay to its new A350 aircraft as it reported second-quarter earnings that almost quadrupled from a year ago.
Net profit at the Leiden, Netherlands-based European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company was €461 million ($567 million), up from €121 million in the same period a year ago. Sales rose 12 percent to €13.5 billion. Analysts polled by Factset had forecast profit of €350 million on sales of €12.8 billion.
However, the aerospace company also revealed that the entry into service of Airbus’s new A350, which is meant to compete with rival Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner,” will be delayed by several months, until the second half of 2014. The company said the reason for the delay was “time taken for the implementation of the automated drilling process for the wings.” Airbus has taken a €124 million charge as a result, and warned that further delays would lead to greater charges.
via Airbus A350 plane production delayed. What’s the holdup? – CSMonitor.com.